“In this instance, Nira Radia, was clearly plugged into the inner workings of the DMK, a fact we only discovered when she rang up to tell me that the news flashes running on different news channels were incorrect; the stalemate between the DMK and the Congress had not yet been resolved. She corroborated her claim by saying she was in direct contact with the DMK chief and was in fact with his daughter, Kanimozhi. We talked about news developments within the DMK and the Congress and nothing I said was different from what I was reporting on TV minute-by-minute.”

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She also says (emphasis hers): “As a matter of record, I never passed on any message to any Congress leader. But because she was a useful news source, and the message seemed innocuous, I told her I would. Ultimately, I did no more than humor a source who was providing me information during a rapidly changing news story.

AT NO STAGE WAS I EVER ASKED TO PASS ON ANY MESSAGE TO INTERCEDE ON BEHALF OF A PARTICULAR MINISTER OR PORTFOLIO. NOT ONCE, WAS I ASKED TO ‘LOBBY’ FOR A. RAJA. NOT ONCE WAS I ASKED TO CARRY ANY MESSAGE REGARDING HIM OR ANY OTHER APPOINTMENT.”

However she also said she was likely to do things a little differently in the future because of this experience: “The takeaway from this debate for me pertains to the everyday practice of journalism. I think of how different kinds of people, who could be potential sources of news, call me, and indeed all editors in this country every day, with different requests ranging from complaints about stories to requests for coverage and yes, sometimes we are also asked to pass on innocuous bits of information. Never have these requests – nor will they – dictate the agenda of my news decisions. But, the calls that we treat with polite friendliness, to keep our channels of news open, clearly need to be handled with more distance. This controversy has made me look at the need to re-draw the lines much more carefully.”

The statement is accompanied by links to videos of her reporting from that time last year, as well as more recently clips on her work on the telecom spectrum case.

“There has been a smoke screen behind what is really the so-called scam – which really is out-of-turn allocation of spectrum, hoarding of spectrum by important players for free,” Mr. Tata said.

He also said that in using Ms. Radia as a public relations advocate, the Tata Group had never done anything criminal or unethical.

“Never once in our association with her, have we ever tried to subvert policies, move policy in our favor,” Mr. Tata told Shekhar Gupta of the Indian Express. “Yes we have advocated level playing fields, we advocated changes in policy through her or directly, but never once have we done something to exploit a policy issue. Never once have we used her to make payments or to seek favors.”

Earlier, Ms. Radia’s firm, Vaishnavi Group, emailed a statement from her. In it, she observed that her client, Tata Telservices, is one of the firms that has suffered from the way spectrum has been allocated.

“Our only client in telecom sector is Tata Teleservices that has been discriminated against over the years and therefore suffering huge losses. The new CAG report also clearly states that Tata Teleservices, has been unfairly discriminated against in the allotment of spectrum. The matter is sub-judice and in front of the Honourable Supreme Court,” it said.

“It is unfortunate that certain sections of media have decided to overlook the real issues and instead focused on spreading stories of misinformation and malice on myself, Vaishnavi Group and in effect on our reputed client in the telecom sector.”

About India Real Time

India Real Time offers analysis and insights into the broad range of developments in business, markets, the economy, politics, culture, sports, and entertainment that take place every single day in the world’s largest democracy. Regular posts from Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires reporters around the country provide a unique take on the main stories in the news, shed light on what else mattered and why, and give global readers a snapshot of what Indians have been talking about all week. You can contact the editors at indiarealtime(at)wsj(dot)com.